Vodafone Australia says on track for 3G rollout in 2005

Vodafone Australia says it remains on track to launch a third generation (3G) mobile network here sometime in the next two years as part of developing its globally compatible 3G network.

Vodafone said late last year it would be investing "hundreds of millions of dollars" in Australia over the next two years, hoping for a launch sometime in 2005.

The Business weekly newspaper in Britain reported over the weekend that Vodafone UK would this year begin to depreciate the value of its assets by £13 billion because of delays in the launching of its 3G services.

Financial sources told the the newspaper that investments by the British operator to acquire licences would weigh heavily on the value of Vodafone shares in the coming months.

A Vodafone Australia spokeswoman said today that its plans for 3G remained on track.

While she did not comment directly on the media reports, the spokeswoman said that the company's Australian operations would not be affected by goings-on in Britain.

"Basically, the UK and parts of Europe are rolling out the first phase of 3G," she said. "We're not in the first phase, so we're not affected by any of that."

3G is the generic name for a set of mobile technologies that enable users simultaneous voice and data services, high-speed internet access, high quality video telephony and CD-quality music services.